Ten minutes, 10000 ~ 41940 won ($US 10~42); stars get 1 million won per episode ($US 1000)
"Don't look down on us because we're young".
The smallest peppers are the spiciest. You can't look down on kids. Child actors are treated almost as well as top stars. Some are
Lee Hyun-woo ("King Se Jong",
"The Legend"),
Yoo Seung-ho (
"The Legend", "
King and I"),
Sim Eun-kyeong (
"The Legend", "
Hwangjin-i"),
Park Eun-bin (
"The Legend",
"Lobbyist"),
Park Ji-bin ("
Yi San", "
My Man's Woman"),
Kang I-seok ("
Mr. Good-Bye", "
First Wives' Club"),
Jung Da-bin ("
I Love You - 2008", "
Really Really Like You"), Kim Hyeong-ki ("
Bad Couple", "Salt Doll"), and
Seo Sin-ae (
"Thank You", "Exclamation Mark"). These are famous child stars who are good enough to play leading roles.
Child actors who must be in dramas. How much are their salaries?
Ten minutes air time, first-rank 10560 won ($US 10,2) to eighth-rank 41,940 won ($US 42); paid by rank
The salaries of actors in the three broadcasting companies are divided into 18 ranks. Child actors and elementary school students are in ranks 1 through 5. Junior high students are in ranks 6 to 8.
But for an outside production, this standard is not absolute. The lowest rank 1 receives 10560 won ($US 10,5) (ten minutes).
There are also differences between sitcoms, daily dramas, weekend dramas, and miniseries. The time of airing, rank of the actor, and fame of their name also change the salaries.
For example, elementary student A (more well known puts them in rank 5) who starred in many dramas will receive 121140 won ($US 121) for 60 minutes in a miniseries. This does not include transportation fees, outdoor scenes, all-nighter scenes, housing fees, and food fees.
One representative from a broadcasting company said, "We use an average salary chart as a basis but we change it according to the actor's popularity and the manager and producers' relationships".
The salary and other fees, such as transportation and food, add up to 150000 to 400000 won ($US 150-400) per episode.
Yoo Seung-ho,
Sim Eun-kyeong "Top stars as young actors"
But not all actors receive their pays according to these expected rates. For top young actors, they base the salaries on their rank as well.
Last year,
Yoo Seung-ho acted as the young Seong-jong in SBS "
King and I" and Dam-duk in MBC
"The Legend". He became popular as the 'king maker'.
Sim Eun-kyeong also made a name for herself after she acted as a young
Ha Ji-won in KBS "
Hwangjin-i". She also acted as a young
Lee Ji-ah in
"The Legend".
Was it because all their dramas were successes?
Yoo Seung-ho and
Sim Eun-kyeong are known as top stars. One company reealed, "
Yoo Seung-ho receives 2 million won per episode ($US 2000), and
Sim Eun-kyeong receives 1.5 million won ($US 1500) per episode".
Park Ji-bin, who made many viewers cry in "
Yi San" and "
My Man's Woman", receives 1 million to 1.5 million won per episode.
This is not a small amount compared to a middle-aged actor, and he also receives about 2 million won per episode ($US 2000).
"Child actors' salaries... 'Boss ! I'm not jealous'"
